


Two Worlds Collide (When I'm With You)

by Jellybean96



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Bellarke January Joy, F/M, First Meetings, Friendship, Kid Fic, Pre-Relationship, Single Parent Bellamy Blake, Single Parent Clarke Griffin, Single Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:02:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28938213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jellybean96/pseuds/Jellybean96
Summary: Of all the places they thought they'd meet someone, Bellamy and Clarke never thought it'd be at a concert they each took their kid to.
Relationships: Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin
Comments: 24
Kudos: 87
Collections: Bellarke January Joy 2021





	Two Worlds Collide (When I'm With You)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new story for ya! This one is part of a little event happening on Tumblr, Bellarke January Joy, so I hope this brings you a little joy. This was pretty fun to write.
> 
> Enjoy!

Standing in line outside the venue, surrounded by dozens upon dozens of pre-teens, teens, and young adults, Clarke shares a sympathetic smile of solidarity with another parent in the next line over. This certainly wouldn’t be her first choice of where to be on a Friday night, but she loves her daughter, so she’s powering through it. She’ll most likely stay rooted in her seat while her daughter jumps up and down like a maniac, shouting and screaming and singing along to the music.

To be fair, this band does have far better music than some of the other groups her daughter enjoys listening to, so Clarke can’t complain that much. And it’s the group’s first-ever headlining tour, which just so happens to be bringing them very close to their city the day before her daughter’s birthday, so Clarke thought it would be an excellent present to get for her daughter.

She instantly became Mother of the Year when her daughter opened the envelope containing their tickets for the show. And it’s all she’s been able to do to not go crazy from how often her daughter has been talking about the concert the past few months. She remembers being that excited about her favorite bands when she was younger, and she’s happy to know that she’s able to bring a little more joy into her daughter’s life.

“Mom, what time is it?”

Clarke chuckles, glancing down at her daughter and running a hand over the top of her head. “It’s still not time to go in yet, baby. Doors open at 6:30. It’s not 6:30 yet.”

Madi sighs heavily. “I know. But what time is it?”

Clarke checks the time on her watch and then smiles at her daughter. “It’s 6:15.”

Madi squeals. “That means there’s only fifteen minutes left! Yes!” She fist pumps the air and then does a little dance of excitement. “It’s almost time, it’s almost time!”

Clarke laughs again at her daughter’s enthusiasm, pulling her phone out and opening up the camera app. She switches it to video, hits record, and focuses on her daughter. “Mads, say hi to grandma.”

Madi spins toward the camera with the widest grin. “Hi, grandma! It’s almost time to go inside! And then me and mom get to see Julie and the Phantoms! I’m so excited!”

“Which song do you want to hear most?” Clarke asks, keeping the video rolling.

“ _ Edge of Great _ ,” Madi replies with zero hesitation. “It’s my favorite. It’s so good. I love the thing Luke plays on his guitar while Julie’s singing. It’s so cool. Luke’s my favorite.”

Clarke smiles, remembering how often Madi would talk about Luke after she first discovered the band on YouTube. Nearly every conversation they had would somehow lead back to the lead guitarist for Julie and the Phantoms. 

“Alex is my favorite,” a little boy standing in front of them pipes up, turning around and looking directly at Madi. “He’s so cool on the drums. I wanna play drums too, but dad says they’re too loud for our apartment.”

“That’s okay,” Madi responds. “You can just pretend to play the drums until you can actually play them. Or you can use pots and pans or other stuff to make your own drums.”

The boy smiles. “I could use boxes and sticks since they won’t be loud.”

Madi beams. “And then you can pretend to be Alex while you’re playing.”

“Yeah! I’m Julius.”

“I’m Madi.” Her daughter spins back toward her, tossing an arm around Julius’ shoulders and pulling him close. “Mom! I made a new friend.”

Clarke laughs quietly as she stops the video, making a mental note to send it to her mom later. “I can see that.” She smiles softly at the boy. “It’s very nice to meet you, Julius. I’m Clarke, Madi’s mom.”

Julius gives her a small wave. “Hi. This is my dad.” He reaches behind him and grabs the arm of a tall, dark-haired man, tugging on the appendage to turn him around. “Dad, this is my new friend Madi and her mom.”

Clarke’s breath catches in her throat when she sees the freckles splattered all across the man’s face, and the way his tightly curled hair falls over his forehead. He has a cellphone in his hand, held halfway to his ear, and a stunned expression on his face.

“Hey, O, I’m gonna call you back, okay?” he speaks into the phone and then ends the call. He slides it into his pocket and offers her a small smile. “Hi. Sorry if he was bothering you.”

She waves him off. “No, he’s fine. I think our kids just became best friends, though.”

The man chuckles, his gaze finding their children engaged in an exciting conversation again. “It would seem that way.” He looks back at her. “I’m Bellamy, by the way, Bellamy Blake.”

“Clarke Griffin. You’re a good dad for willingly bringing your son to a concert like this on a Friday night.”

Bellamy chuckles, rubbing at the back of his neck. “Actually, I wasn’t originally going to come. His aunt, my sister, was going to bring him since they both really like this band, but she got sick at the last minute. Thankfully I was able to switch shifts with someone at work so I could be the one to bring him. I knew it would have crushed him if he couldn’t come.”

Clarke smiles. “He does seem to be very excited about the show.”

“Yeah.” Bellamy shifts on his feet. “What about you?”

“I think we’re in the same boat of not actively listening to this band. But Madi’s birthday is tomorrow, so I bought the tickets as soon as they went on sale, figuring it’d be a birthday she’ll never forget.”

Bellamy blinks. “Wow. Yeah, you’re a much better parent than I am.”

She tilts her head. “You shifted your work schedule so you could bring your son yourself instead of finding someone else to bring him. I think that makes you a pretty good parent too. Don’t compare yourself to other parents, it won’t get you anywhere good. Trust me, I learned that the hard way after I had Madi. Being a single mom right from the start was not easy.”

Bellamy sighs, nodding. “Yeah, it hasn’t been easy for us either. I’m a newly single parent and I know I shouldn’t compare my parenting to how other people parent, but sometimes it just happens without meaning to.”

Clarke shifts on her feet. “Can I ask what happened? It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me, I get that we’re basically strangers.”

He smiles. “No, it’s okay. It’s not a secret or anything. She left a little over a year ago; filed for divorce and signed away her parental rights for Julius. She had a lot of problems going on in her personal life that she wasn’t dealing with and I guess she couldn’t handle being a mom too. What about you? You said you’ve been a single mom since the start?”

She nods. “Yeah. Unfortunately, Madi’s biological father knew right away that he didn’t want to be a dad. We hadn’t even been together that long, and she was a complete surprise, but when I told him he got all weird and told me that he couldn’t be a dad. That it was best if I...got rid of the baby or did it all on my own.”

Bellamy’s jaw drops. “Wow.”

“I know. I found out a few months into my pregnancy that he’d been seeing someone else while also seeing me, which is part of the reason why he reacted the way he did.”

“Oh. I’m so sorry.”

She shakes her head, waving him off. “It’s fine. Madi and I have been doing pretty okay on our own so far. And my mom helps me out from time to time. Madi helped bring us closer, and now we have a much less strained relationship. And funnily enough, the other girl that had been dating Madi’s dad ended up becoming a really good friend of mine. Raven loves Madi almost as much as I do.”

“Well, that’s nice to hear. I’m really happy for you.”

“Thanks. And I’m assuming you have your sister to help out since you mentioned she was the one who was originally going to bring Julius to the concert.”

Bellamy nods. “Yeah. We’ve always had a pretty rocky relationship, and she’s always been a little reckless and rebellious. But when she found out she was going to be an aunt, she promised me that she’d be more careful with her life choices because she didn’t want her niece or nephew to only ever hear stories about the person she was. And when my ex left, Octavia stepped up and started helping me out where she could. She’s been a real life-saver with keeping my life together.”

“That’s great.”

“Thanks. And you know what? Now that we’ve both shared our life stories with each other, I don’t think I’d consider us strangers anymore.”

Clarke raises a brow at him and smiles. “Oh, no? Then what are we?”

“Definitely acquaintances.”

She lets out a laugh and slowly nods her head. “Yeah, I guess we are. Though, I don’t think I’ve ever made any acquaintances at a concert like this before.”

“No? Oh, this is my favorite place to make acquaintances. It’s the best, you should try it more.”

“I’ll definitely have to.”

Loud cheers coming from the front of the line pulls Clarke’s attention away from the handsome man in front of her. She sees people shuffling around near the doors, hearing excited chattering coming from the kids all around her. 

She looks back at Bellamy and smiles. “Looks like it’s finally time to go inside.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Madi,” she says, glancing over at her daughter, “I think the doors are open now.”

Madi beams, bouncing on her feet. “They are? Yes!” She turns to her new friend. “Julius! It’s time to go inside!”

Julius grins. “I’m so excited.”

“Me too. Mom, can we sit with Julius?”

Clarke smiles softly, running a hand over her daughter’s head as they slowly shuffle forward with the line. “Sorry, baby, but we have to sit in the seats we bought. And Julius and his dad have to sit in the seats they bought.”

Madi’s smile falters. “Okay. But can Julius come to my party tomorrow?”

“Um…” Clarke glances up at Bellamy and gives him a small, one-shouldered shrug. “I know it’s kind of last-minute but do you think that’s something you guys can do? If you guys live too far, I totally get it.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem, actually. We live in the next town over.”

Clarke blinks. “Oh. So do we.”

“Really? Wow. Then yeah, Julius can definitely come to Madi’s party tomorrow. I don’t think either of us will hear the end of it otherwise.”

Clarke laughs quietly. “I think you’re right.” She glances up as the line keeps moving forward, bringing them closer to the front doors. “Well, then, I guess we’ll see you two after the show so we can give you all the details for the party,” she says, digging their tickets out of her bag and holding tightly to them as they inch closer and closer to the person manning the front doors.

Bellamy smiles at her, grabbing his son’s hand to keep the boy close. “Yeah, we’ll see you then. Julius, say bye to your friend.”

Clarke watches with a smile as the two kids exchange goodbyes and promises to talk about every aspect of the show once they meet up again afterward. It’s sweet, really, how quickly the two kids were able to become friends while standing outside waiting to go inside for a concert.

Once they reach the front doors, Clarke hands their tickets over to be scanned, and then they’re making their way inside the venue. She has to keep an extra tight hold on her daughter’s hand so that she doesn’t accidentally lose track of her in the crowd of people all walking around the front lobby. 

Their first stop is going to be the bathrooms, even if the lines outside them are super long. But she knows that if they don’t use the bathroom before the show starts, then there’s a high chance that Madi will need to use it during the show. And she’ll be very sad if she misses any piece of the performance. So bathrooms first, and then finding their seats. That’s the plan. 

.

.

.

If he’s being completely honest with himself, this isn’t his ideal way to spend a Friday night. But if he’s spending it with his son and not at work dealing with difficult customers, then he doesn’t have much to really complain about. It’s sort of a blessing in disguise that Octavia got sick so he’s able to spend time with Julius, doing something that the young boy enjoys. Bellamy knows he’s been working a lot, mostly to try and keep his mind off the fact that his wife left him. It hasn’t been easy, but he’s been doing his best, trying to keep himself in the right headspace to better look after his son. His son is the most important person to him, and he just wants to do a good job.

And coming home at night to his son is always a good feeling, getting to spend a little time with Julius before they both turn in for the night. Of course, it never lasts quite as long as he’d like it to since Julius is one of those kids who gets tired very quickly and can’t stay awake for very long. Though, he has a growing suspicion that tonight is going to be unusual in the fact that Julius is going to be up all night talking about the concert. And he’s definitely going to have the music stuck in his head for a while. But at least it’s better than some of the other stuff that’s being played on the radio.

Making his way through the crowd of people all walking around the arena, Bellamy holds tightly to Julius’ hand as he guides them toward their seats for the concert. They aren’t super close to the stage, but they’re in the upper-level section of seating, right against the front railing, so they aren’t going to have to worry about trying to see the band over other people’s heads.

“Dad, are we at our seats yet? I wanna take a picture for Auntie O.”

Bellamy chuckles. “We should be there any second now, buddy. Are you excited?”

Julius nods with a grin. “So excited! Thanks for bringing me, dad.”

He stops momentarily so he can turn and smile at his son. “Any time that I get to spend with you is a no-brainer, bud. Now let’s go find our seats so we can get comfortable.”

“Okay.”

Bellamy runs a hand over his son’s head, drops a quick kiss to his hair, and then turns back around to continue through the crowds of people. He’s careful as he moves, not wanting to bump into somebody too roughly or jostle his son around too much. It’s a little slow going, but eventually, they make it to their section of seating. Bellamy ushers Julius to walk first into the aisle and then follows closely behind him.

He stops short when he recognizes the blonde woman sitting down in the seat next to his and Julius’ seats. “Clarke?”

She whips her around to look at him with wide eyes. “Bellamy? Hi. Wow. This is—”

“Madi!” Julius shrieks excitedly, immediately darting past Clarke’s legs to stand in front of the young brunette.

Madi beams. “Julius!”

Bellamy chuckles at the sight, sinking down into one of the empty seats behind him, looking at Clarke. “I guess the kids will get to enjoy the show together after all.”

Clarke laughs quietly and nods. “It would appear so. Which is probably a good thing for us, honestly. Means we might not have to have the concert play-by-play later.”

“Yes, that is true.”

They spend the rest of the time until the concert starts talking to each other while the kids have their own conversation by Madi’s seat. It’s nice getting to know a little more about Clarke, and her life as a single parent. She’s been doing it since day one so he’s listening to every single thing she says. She doesn’t claim to be an expert on single parenting, but he still takes in every piece of advice she gives him, storing it all away in his brain somewhere so he can access it later when he knows he’ll need it.

Eventually, the lights in the arena go down as the giant LCD screen at the back of the stage lights up with a countdown clock starting at ‘10’. He glances over at Clarke, barely able to see her in the dark, and gestures with his head to the kids.

Madi and Julius are both standing at the railing, leaning forward with giddy smiles on their faces. They’re bouncing on their feet as they call out the number on the countdown with everyone else who is excited about the concert.

He manages to snap a picture of the two of them, sending it to his sister. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Clarke leaning closer across the seats so he turns his head to look at her. “Can I help you?” he asks with a teasing smile.

She smiles back, thankfully. “Sorry. Could you send that to me?”

“Yeah, sure.” He taps at his screen a few times and then holds it out to her so she can put her phone number in the address bar at the top of the screen.

She takes the phone and does just that before handing it back to him. “There you go.”

“Great.” He quickly sends the photo and then smiles at her. “And now you have my number too.” Why is he suddenly feeling like he’s back in high school again, desperately trying to flirt with a girl without knowing if she’d even like him that way? Of course, he hadn’t realized he was flirting at first, since he hasn’t actively flirted with anyone in quite a while.

Clarke smiles softly at him, pulling her phone out of her bag and looking at the screen. Then she looks at him again. “Wonderful. My mom is going to love this. She loves seeing just about everything that Madi does, no matter how big or small it is.”

“Sounds like a very involved grandma.”

“I think she’s making up for how distant she and I grew as I got older. I don’t think she wants the same thing to happen with her only grandchild.”

“At least she’s making an effort, right?” he asks with a small shrug.

Clarke lets out a small breath. “I guess so.” Her eyes drift to the kids still standing at the railing, excitedly watching the opening act perform. “And Madi loves her, so I guess I can’t really complain.”

They spend the next few minutes talking idly until all the children and teens in the arena start cheering loudly.

Bellamy shifts his attention toward the railing, finding Madi and Julius leaning even further over the rail. “Be careful over there you two,” he calls out.

Julius looks at him with a grin. “Dad! It’s Julie! She’s on stage at her piano!”

He chuckles. “Well, then you better watch her.”

“Mom!” Madi shouts, turning around as well. “Can I have your phone to take pictures?”

Clarke narrows her eyes slightly, playfully, her lips pursing, and then sighs. She holds her phone out to her daughter. “Don’t drop it.”

“I won’t.”

Bellamy chuckles, watching as Madi and Julius stand closer together at the railing, holding the phone between the two of them as they take pictures and videos of the show, as well as a few selfies thrown into the mix. It’s adorable, really, the way they’ve become such fast friends after having only met that night.

He leans forward in his seat a bit to get a better view of the show, right as the hologram band appears on stage. He’s a bit taken back at first, but then he’s smiling, mostly in awe. He’s seen it happen in their videos before on YouTube whenever Julius would put them on, but seeing it happen in person is something else entirely.

He glances over at Clarke, seeing her watching the stage too, with the same expression of wonderment on her face. “I may not be obsessed with their music like Julius is, but even I have to admit that was pretty cool.”

Clarke looks at him and smiles. “Oh, yeah. I think I understand part of the appeal now.”

Bellamy smiles back at her, his heart jumping a little in his chest at the way the multi-colored lights from the stage reflect off her hair and face. He lets out a small breath. “Yeah, I think I am too.”

**Author's Note:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


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